NIS Agents Tearing Up the Japanese Empire - Chapter 217



Only Krnovel

NIS Agent Tears the Japanese Empire Episode 217

A tall man leaves home and never returns (2)

The day after being assigned a room by the Commander Comrade.

General Kim Jwa-jin came to see me.

“You’re Mr. Lee from Gyeongseong?”

“Yes, but… …. Who are you?”

“This is Colonel Kim Jwa-jin, Chief of Staff of the Korean Independence Army.”

“Ah, you are General Kim Jwa-jin. Nice to meet you… … ?”

Next to General Kim Jwa-jin, a little boy was holding onto General Kim Jwa-jin’s hand tightly while looking at me with his eyes wide open and chewing candy in his mouth.

“Who is this child?”

“… … He is my son.”

“… … ?”

I looked at General Kim Jwa-jin with a look that asked why he had brought my son.

Then General Kim Jwa-jin coughed in vain.

“Ahem… … Don’t misunderstand, it’s because the child won’t leave me.”

“Yes, I see… … .”

It was a new feeling to see General Kim Jwa-jin, a man with sharp eyes and a fierce spirit like he was facing a tiger, struggling with a child.

‘Originally, he was a person who would do anything for independence, regardless of his family.’

My first impression of this difficult-to-understand figure, an anti-communist anarchist independence activist, was…

‘It’s a little scary… … .’

I felt something was scary.

It’s not that it’s scary, but should I say that the tremendous energy pouring out of those two glaring eyes has a subtle power that makes people feel intimidated?

If you first saw General Kim Jwa-jin, you would probably cringe unless you were a very strong person.

“What is this child’s name?”

I also noticed something and asked the child’s name for no reason.

“name……?”

General Kim Jwa-jin looked down at the child with wide eyes as if he had not expected me to ask such a question.

“… … .”

“… … ?”

General Kim Jwa-jin looked at the child for a moment in silence.

‘You don’t even know your son’s name?’

It was truly an outrageous situation.

“This is Kim Du-han.”

“That’s what I think.”

As soon as I saw the joke, which was like watching a well-written gag show, I almost burst out laughing.

Although I was the type of person who never broke my facial expressions in any situation, it was truly difficult to bear to see General Kim Jwa-jin, who looked heavy and serious, showing this kind of appearance.

“… … Oh, I see.”

“Why are you doing that? Your words are trembling.”

“Ah, no… … Phew… … . That’s not it.”

I barely managed to suppress my laughter by forcing myself to use my facial muscles.

“Father, that brother’s face is strange.”

“Oh, you little brat! Such a foolish remark.”

“Ako!”

When young Kim Du-han looked at my face and said that it was strange, General Kim Jwa-jin immediately hit him on the head.

“Father, I’m sick.”

“I believe that the more pain you experience, the more lessons you will learn.”

“What is the lesson?”

“A lesson is a teaching.”

“What is the teaching?”

“Teaching is… … .”

Little Kim Du-han was curious about everything in the world and asked Kim Jo-jin all kinds of questions.

Kim Jo-jin might have found his son’s questions annoying, but he answered them one by one.

It was a very warm sight.

but.

‘Why did you come?’

I couldn’t understand why he came to me and did that.

* * *

“I’m sorry. Duhan is still young and doesn’t want to be separated from me.”

“no.”

It was some time later that little Kim Du-han became quiet.

Now, he was sitting on General Kim Jwa-jin’s lap, quietly reading a fairy tale.

“Did the general give you the name himself?”

“No, this child’s mother named it herself.”

“okay.”

There was nothing more to say.

‘Why did you really come here?’

General Kim Jwa-jin either was originally a man of few words or he was observing me, but he kept his mouth shut and said nothing.

In a situation where I felt like I was being observed by a stranger, I spoke to the son instead of General Kim Jwa-jin.

“Did you say it was Duhan?”

“yes.”

“He looks really tough. Should I give him some pocket money?”

“yes!”

Little Kim Du-han was a child with such a pure and innocent heart that you wouldn’t have guessed that he would later become a gangster.

I took money out of my wallet as if to bless Kim Du-han’s new life.

“Take it.”

“thank you.”

Little Kim Du-han happily accepted the money, but soon tilted his head and asked me a question.

“The money you gave me is strange.”

“… …Call me uncle.”

“Yes, Uncle! The money you gave me is strange.”

“You think it’s strange?”

“It’s different from what I knew.”

“Oh, that’s American money, dollars.”

I recently recharged my cash reserves by airlifting dollars from Shanghai to do business with Beria.

Thankfully, I had crisp dollar bills made in Shanghai in my wallet.

“Daughter?”

“dollar.”

“Daughter!”

“… … .”

Kim Du-han, who was still young, could not pronounce dollar properly because his tongue was not free.

Still, he was so happy to receive pocket money that he even counted it one by one.

“One, two, three, four… … Father! There are four in all!”

“Yes, there are four in total.”

As I watched little Kim Du-han happily receiving pocket money from his father, a smile naturally formed on my face.

“In the new year, listen to your father, don’t beat up other people for no reason, and study hard to become a good person.”

“yes!”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

It always felt good to give words of encouragement to my child.

“I should say thank you, Duhan.”

“Uncle! Sa-ddal-la! Thank you!”

“… … .”

Why are the rich in pairs… … .

* * *

Only after I finally sent the child away was I able to have a more serious conversation with General Kim.

“hmm…….”

“… … ?”

“hmm…….”

But even in this conversational atmosphere, General Kim Jwa-jin did not open his mouth.

He had something to say, but it seemed a bit awkward for him to be the one to say it first due to his pride.

“Do you have anything to say to me… … ?”

“Ahem… … Do you happen to know someone named Lee Jeong?”

General Kim Jwa-jin mentioned the name of Lee Jeong, who was a top secret agent for the Government-General.

“Yes? Lee Jung? Oh! I know. I know very well.”

Naturally, I knew him well.

Because I executed that bastard myself.

“Really? Have you met him before?”

“yes.”

“Do you know anything about that friend?”

“Uh… … . He died.”

“what?!”

Kim Joa-jin was very surprised to hear that Lee Jeong had died, and then he raised his voice in anger.

“Who… … . Who the hell killed my adjutant!”

“I’m going.”

“what?!”

General Kim Jwa-jin was silent for a moment.

General Kim’s eyes shook violently and his breathing became more labored.

It was a warning sign of emotional turmoil.

“This… … This… …!!!”

General Kim Jwa-jin, unable to control his anger, put his hand on his waist and immediately pulled out his pistol.

Then he raised his voice again and put the gun in front of my nose.

“If you can’t properly explain why you killed my adjutant… … I can’t stand it any longer.”

He truly had a fiery personality.

Is this really what it means to say that a son resembles his father?

“Answer quickly!”

“That’s because that guy, Lee Jeong, was a spy for the Government-General. He was selling information about the independence army to the Government-General of Korea.”

“lie!”

“What would I gain by lying to General Kim?”

“… … .”

“If you need evidence, go see Comrade Commander. I have already passed on all the information about the spies to him.”

“… … .”

I took a sip of tea calmly.

This time, I brewed it myself, so it was smooth and slightly sweet without any bitterness.

“I see.”

General Kim Jwa-jin did not pull the trigger.

He put the gun back in its holster, sat down, and calmly picked up the tea.

“I had expected that you would harm me since I haven’t heard from you in a long time.”

“okay.”

“But a spy… … . That… … . Honestly, it’s hard to believe.”

“I understand.”

From General Kim Jwa-jin’s perspective, he was no different from a brother who had crossed countless death lines and shared life and death with him.

But, that kind of person is a spy… … . It’s probably hard to believe.

“Isn’t there something like a secret that can’t be told even to blood brothers?”

“… … Are you insulting the friendship between me and that friend right now?”

“That’s not it. What I’m talking about is closer to human psychology.”

All people in the world have the strength to grit their teeth and endure any pain, no matter how difficult, arduous, or painful it may be, as long as they have hope that it will end someday.

But on the other hand, if the pain is like a long, dark tunnel with no end in sight and no light in sight, and only deep despair fills you, then you are likely to easily collapse like a snowman melting in the morning sun.

“Wouldn’t it have been something like this?”

“… … .”

“The glory of winning the Battle of Cheongsanri was short-lived. In the end, all that was left for the independence army was Gando, which had been destroyed by the Japanese army’s scorched-earth tactics, and the resentful gazes of their compatriots who resented the independence army for failing to protect them.”

In situations where there is only despair, people tend to have hope.

But when there was some hope.

If that little hope is trampled… … .

“People tend to feel greater despair.”

“… … So you sold out your comrades?”

“Isn’t it that in a situation where there is no hope for the future, the mind that prioritizes oneself is revealed first?”

General Kim Jwa-jin became enraged at my words.

“How much information did you sell with such a petty mind that you killed my comrade!”

“It wasn’t information that could be passed over as trivial.”

I took a notebook out of my pocket.

It was an item that was copied from the report stolen from Lee Jeong.

“If it had been just a few bits of information, I wouldn’t have even come forward.”

The information that Lee Jeong was trying to pass on was not something that could be simply passed off as trivial information.

It included detailed information on the key figures of the independence army, including portraits and descriptions of their personalities, characteristics, habits, and other personal details that had been kept secret for a long time, as well as the independence army’s sources of funds and main routes for independence.

Not only that, it also contained information about the wealthy and noblemen who supported the independence fighters in Joseon, as well as information about independence fighters who were secretly active.

“… … .”

“That traitor tried to hand this over to the Governor-General. I was shocked when I caught him.”

If this information had been passed on to the Government-General, the already weak foundation of the independence army would have been further shaken, and it would not have been strange if it had collapsed altogether.

Of course, before that happened, I would have taken a bomb to the Governor-General’s Office and gotten this information back… … I didn’t bother adding anything else.

“… … .”

“In the past, he had been secretly communicating with the Governor-General to seek his own way out… … This time, he seemed determined to sell out all his comrades.”

“I see.”

General Kim Jwa-jin seemed to be greatly shocked.

Although he didn’t show it on the outside, his eyes kept trembling.

‘Well… … it must be a huge shock since the person you trusted the most betrayed you.’

General Kim Jwa-jin just looked through the notebook I handed him without saying a word.

General Kim Jwa-jin, who had been looking through his notebook for a long time, finally opened his mouth and asked me.

“That guy… … no, how did that traitor die?”

“There’s a hole in my forehead.”

“Still, it went well.”

“At that time, there was no situation in which I could do anything.”

General Kim Jwa-jin clenched his fist.

His grip was so strong that the notebook almost bent.

“Then, you came all the way to Manchuria to root out spies within the country?”

“Well, you could say that, but… … . First of all, it’s Lunar New Year and the new year, so I’ll get some rest… … .”

“I will help you.”

“yes?”

“If you want to track down spies, I’ll help you.”

“No, there’s no need to do that… … .”

There was a sparkle in General Kim Jwa-jin’s eyes.

There was a sinister aura in his two sharp eyes, creating a terrifying atmosphere.

“I trusted that traitor and doubted you, so it’s a shame for me to end up like this as a man!”

“Oh, yes… … .”

“Let me right this wrong.”

“If you want it that much.”

There was nothing wrong with me doing what I had to do.